Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Natalia's Corner - Deployment, Part IV

Deployment, Part IV

Soon after the unit arrived in Iraq, the scheduling to take leave started, they were told, "if someone had a special request on when they would prefer to take their 2 week leave, to feel free to do so, and they were going to try their best to grant it." And of course, my husband raised his hand right away to put in his request (his first son was due to be born 4 days before Christmas) for the middle of December.

One morning he called me and gave me the great news "he was scheduled to come home on Dec 8." Best news I have heard in a long time, we felt so blessed!

Due to my diabetes not getting under control, following a diet, 3 insulin shots daily with weekly dosage increasment, weekly ultrasounds, by-weekly fetal monitoring at the hospital, weekly appts. with my ob/gyn, neonatal care specialist, diabetic nutricionist, and weight loss at the end of the pregnancy.

My Doctor decided to induced the labor (sugar levels were dangerously high for the unborn baby) at 37 weeks. That was another tough moment for me, as much as I wanted my husband to hold my hand during labor and delivery, I wanted our son to be healthy. One of Maxwell's fatherhood dreams was, to attend child bith classes and help with his son delivery. I thought that was the cutest thing I ever heard this 6"1 man say.

On Dec 5th, I was 1 cm dialated, the 8th, came by and he was not home yet. Maxwell finally got home on the 13th and to his surprise, I was sitting at the airport waiting for him "I still remember that beatiful smile," he couldn't believe that: Yeah! I was still pregnant!

Two days after and at 39 weeks, he was holding my hand as our son entered the world! Shawn Maxwell Chappell 7lbs 3oz was born on Dec 15, 2005....

Additional NOTES from Pam:* Certain details will be edited to protect security concerns or family privacy. My edits appear in brackets [ ]. Any personal details that appear in these posts have been approved by Natalia and/or Maxwell.

* Maxwell's status as the blog's "adopted" Hero, and Natalia's posts about her experiences, should NOT be construed as their endorsement of any opinion I post on this blog, or representative of any policy or position of the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or any other government entity. This is merely a way to allow readers to learn more about what military families experience, and to offer an opportunity to support a deployed Hero and his family.

* To learn what you can do to help, click on Maxwell's picture over on the left, or go here.To adopt "your own" Hero, visit Soldiers' Angels.

On the prowlCrewmembers of a Navy EA-6B Prowler perform pre-flight checks before takeoff from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on Thursday, June 15. Air Force and Navy crewmembers here fly the Prowler, providing support to ground troops in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Brian Ferguson)Full Story

From MoveAmericaForward.org

(SAN FRANCISCO) – Liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of the popular left-of-center blog, DailyKos.com, has just returned from his first annual "YearlyKos" convention by embracing a surprising mantra: that of the nation’s largest grassroots pro-troop organization, Move America Forward (website: http://www.MoveAmericaForward.org).

In a posting headlined "Move America Forward" the blogger "Kos" denounced the former Dean campaign’s slogan of “Take America Back” as being "regressive."

"…let's remind people that we are focused on the future. And that's where we want to take our country."

So Kos’s solution? He wants to embrace the slogan "Move America Forward."

[See: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/19/133628/972 ]

In response to his online proposal, Move America Forward’s Executive Director, Robert Dixon, said he welcomed Markos Zuniga to the pro-troop family.

"For the past couple years, DailyKos.com has served as home of some of the most irresponsible anti-military and ‘Blame America First’ propaganda. I don’t think many of the contributors to that blog understand that America has been attacked and our nations is now at war, because in many of their posts it seems as if they are rooting for the United States and our Coalition Partners to lose the war," said Dixon.

"Given the media’s extensive praise for Mr. Zuniga’s talents and abilities, it strikes me that Mr. Zuniga could be so oblivious to the existence of Move America Forward as the nation’s leading pro-troop organization. Our organization has been discussed in vivid terms dozens of times at the DailyKos.com site.

"If it is not a moment of gross naivitae on the part of Mr. Zuniga, perhaps he has finally woken up to how bankrupt the ideas advanced by his fellow travelers in the ‘Blame America First’ movement are," Dixon said.

"We would encourage Markos Zuniga to continue to embrace "Move America Forward" as his slogan and do what is right by showing his true support for the mission our men and women are serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are always welcoming convert to the 'Support Our Troops' movement," Dixon concluded.

Spc. Mikhail Venikov learned the virtues of discipline and hard work from his father before the family immigrated to America from Kazakhstan in 1989. It was those virtues, he said, that helped him earn the title Best Ranger of 2006.

The victory made a reality out of a dream that began when he saw the competition on television soon after he arrived in the United States as a young boy.

"I’ve always wanted to do it," Venikov said, "even before I joined the Army."

Young Venikov grew up doing push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and honing his mental toughness. His father was a former Soviet special forces soldier, who was taught his children traditional values.

"It was very strict, old world," Venikov said of his upbringing. "We learned military values."

But those things paid off when he embarked on the Best Ranger Competition. Two events that challenged Venikov the most were the road march with a 70-pound rucksack, water and weapon on the first night, and the land navigation course on the second.

Venikov is now at the end of his first enlistment, during which he’s deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. Although he’s weighing all his options for the future, he said he’ll always be grateful to the Army and America for his family’s chance at freedom. He said he appreciates the nation’s effort to spread freedom overseas and is proud to have been a part of it.

"I think what we’re doing (in Iraq and Afghanistan) is great,” said Venikov. "I personally think people should serve their country somehow. I thank America for everything it has done for me and am glad for a chance to serve."

In Today's News - Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Quote of the Day"May those who paid the supreme sacrifice never be forgotten and I also hope that you are constantly reminded of the unswerving dedication of our enemy to do anything necessary to eventually destroy everything we hold so dear. "-- former POW Paul A. Kari

Today in History 1567 - Jews are expelled from Brazil.1756 - 146 British soldiers are imprisoned in the 'Black Hole of Calcutta'; most will die there.1779 - Battle of Stone Ferry1782 - Congress approves the Great Seal of the U.S., and the eagle as its symbol.1791 - King Louis XVI is caught trying to escape the French Revolution.1793 - Eli Whitney applies for a patent for his cotton gin.1837 - Queen Victoria ascends British throne at 18.1863 - The National Bank of Davenport, IA, becomes the first bank chartered in the U.S.1863 - West Virginia becomes the 35th U.S. state.1867 - President Andrew Johnson announces the purchase of Alaska.1893 - Lizzie Borden is acquitted of murder in New Bedford, MA.1900 - In China, the Boxer Rebellion begins.1911 - In New York, the NAACP is incorporated.1943 - British troops launch Operation Bellicose, the first 'shuttle bombing' raid of WWII1944 - Congress charters the Central Intelligence Agency.1947 - President Truman vetoes the Taft-Hartley Act.1963 - The U.S. and U.S.S.R. agree to set up a 'Hot Line.'1964 - General William Westmoreland succeeds General Paul Harkins as head of U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV).